{"id":19849,"date":"2025-08-16T18:04:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T17:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=19849"},"modified":"2025-10-21T20:57:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:57:34","slug":"prevention-is-better-a-substance-abuse-prevention-programme-eire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/08\/prevention-is-better-a-substance-abuse-prevention-programme-eire\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre\u00adven\u00adtion is Bet\u00adter, a sub\u00adstance abuse pre\u00adven\u00adtion pro\u00adgramme – Eire"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Nathan Mol\u00adloy – 14 Aug 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

PREVENTION is Bet\u00adter<\/strong> is a sub\u00adstance abuse pre\u00adven\u00adtion train\u00ading pro\u00adgramme. Their mis\u00adsion is to break the cycle of sub\u00adstance use dis\u00adorder by provid\u00ading evid\u00adence based pre\u00adven\u00adtion edu\u00adca\u00adtion in schools, work\u00adplaces, and com\u00admunit\u00adies world\u00adwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Its CEO and founder, Ryan Ulrich, has over 20 years of exper\u00adi\u00adence work\u00ading in addic\u00adtion and treat\u00adment and drug pre\u00adven\u00adtion space. Speak\u00ading to the Sligo Week\u00adender, Ryan says that he uses his own lived exper\u00adi\u00adence of over\u00adcom\u00ading addic\u00adtion to treat people and that he has worked in this field across many dif\u00adfer\u00adent coun\u00adtries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Its CEO and founder, Ryan Ulrich, has over 20 years of exper\u00adi\u00adence work\u00ading in addic\u00adtion and treat\u00adment and drug pre\u00adven\u00adtion space. Speak\u00ading to the Sligo Week\u00adender, Ryan says that he uses his own lived exper\u00adi\u00adence of over\u00adcom\u00ading addic\u00adtion to treat people and that he has worked in this field across many dif\u00adfer\u00adent coun\u00adtries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have my own lived exper\u00adi\u00adence of over\u00adcom\u00ading my own sub\u00adstance use addic\u00adtion and I\u2019ve been in healthy recov\u00adery for over 24 years. I\u2019ve been work\u00ading in this field in the US and I spent quite a long time, 16 years in China, work\u00ading there and about four years here in Ire\u00adland. So I\u2019ve worked with many schools and in dif\u00adfer\u00adent coun\u00adtries across the world deliv\u00ader\u00ading these kind of pro\u00adgrams.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The ideal Pre\u00adven\u00adtion is Bet\u00adter pro\u00adgramme in a school accord\u00ading to its CEO is one which is run over the course of a week. After that, Ryan says that he hopes either schools or cor\u00adpor\u00ada\u00adtions keep them on for a period of three years as that is when they can note the changes in atti\u00adtude in people towards sub\u00adstance abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ideal Pre\u00adven\u00adtion is Bet\u00adter pro\u00adgramme in a school accord\u00ading to its CEO is one which is run over the course of a week. After that, Ryan says that he hopes either schools or cor\u00adpor\u00ada\u00adtions keep them on for a period of three years as that is when they can note the changes in atti\u00adtude in people towards sub\u00adstance abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, we would love to work with the school or cor\u00adpor\u00ada\u00adtion over a two to three year period. That\u2019s where we can really see the changes in atti\u00adtudes and beha\u00advior just to really pre\u00advent and make an impact. That\u2019s really our mis\u00adsion. So it\u2019s quite flex\u00adible depend\u00ading on the needs of the school or the cor\u00adpor\u00ada\u00adtion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, we would love to work with the school or cor\u00adpor\u00ada\u00adtion over a two to three year period. That\u2019s where we can really see the changes in atti\u00adtudes and beha\u00advior just to really pre\u00advent and make an impact. That\u2019s really our mis\u00adsion. So it\u2019s quite flex\u00adible depend\u00ading on the needs of the school or the cor\u00adpor\u00ada\u00adtion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pre\u00adven\u00adtion is bet\u00adter than the cure is a com\u00admonly used pro\u00adverb defined by that it is bet\u00adter to stop something bad hap\u00adpen\u00ading than to deal with it after it has happened. Ryan believes that in his field, it is massively import\u00adant to pre\u00advent someone get\u00adting addicted to alco\u00adhol or drugs as it can have a dev\u00adast\u00adat\u00ading impact not only them but their fam\u00adily and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very import\u00adant and it\u2019s abso\u00adlutely pos\u00adsible [to pre\u00advent sub\u00adstance abuse].<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very import\u00adant and it\u2019s abso\u00adlutely pos\u00adsible [to pre\u00advent sub\u00adstance abuse].<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a very evid\u00adence based way to go about that as well because as we all know when some\u00adbody\u2019s addicted to even vap\u00ading or cigar\u00adettes or alco\u00adhol, it\u2019s dev\u00adast\u00adat\u00ading, not only for the indi\u00advidual, but for the fam\u00adily and the com\u00admunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a health per\u00adspect\u00adive, each euro inves\u00adted in pre\u00adven\u00adtion saves about nine times that in terms of costs over\u00adall, jails or health care. That doesn\u2019t even include the impact on the com\u00admunity. So it\u2019s kind of an over\u00adlooked but extremely import\u00adant part of the broader part of health care and treat\u00adment over\u00adall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Efforts to stop people using drugs has changed over the years. In the 1970s, the phrase \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d was pop\u00adular\u00adised by then US Pres\u00adid\u00adent<\/span><\/p>\n

Efforts to stop people using drugs has changed over the years. In the 1970s, the phrase \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d was pop\u00adular\u00adised by then US Pres\u00adid\u00adent<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Nixon when he declared drug abuse \u201cpub\u00adlic enemy num\u00adber one\u201d in June 1971. Accord\u00ading to Ryan, sub\u00adstance abuse pre\u00adven\u00adtion has changed a lot since then and that now they\u2019re using a trauma based approach which is more evid\u00adence based.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think even longer, maybe about 40 years ago from the US there was kind of just say no or these scare tac\u00adtics in terms of pre\u00adven\u00adtion, which was shown sci\u00aden\u00adtific\u00adally to not work at all. And then there more of an edu\u00adca\u00adtion approach, which is good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut now we\u2019re mov\u00ading more towards a trauma-informed approach, where we under\u00adstand the impact both on the fam\u00adily and the com\u00admunity, the impact on the body in car\u00adry\u00ading the trauma. So we take all those evid\u00adence-based approaches into the classroom. And that\u2019s shown to be more and more effect\u00adive and have greater impact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut now we\u2019re mov\u00ading more towards a trauma-informed approach, where we under\u00adstand the impact both on the fam\u00adily and the com\u00admunity, the impact on the body in car\u00adry\u00ading the trauma. So we take all those evid\u00adence-based approaches into the classroom. And that\u2019s shown to be more and more effect\u00adive and have greater impact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The rise of AI has also help Pre\u00adven\u00adtion is Bet\u00adter to get more data to help with their pro\u00adgrammes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the rise of AI and data has had a sig\u00adni\u00adfic\u00adant impact as well. So now we can col\u00adlect more GDPRcom\u00adpli\u00adant data. We can make more impact assess\u00adments. And that\u2019s part of everything that we do, very datadriven as an organ\u00adiz\u00ada\u00adtion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the HSE\u2019s clin\u00adical lead on addic\u00adtion, Pro\u00adfessor Eamon Keenan said that approx\u00adim\u00adately 20% of young people show\u00ading up to addic\u00adtion ser\u00advices are using HHC, syn\u00adthetic marijuana. Accord\u00ading to Ryan, his organ\u00adisa\u00adtion are see\u00ading this becom\u00ading more of a prob\u00adlem along with dual addic\u00adtion issues which affects people\u2019s men\u00adtal health.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re see\u00ading, espe\u00adcially with the leg\u00adal\u00adiz\u00ada\u00adtion of marijuana in the US, in other coun\u00adtries, that\u2019s become more of a prob\u00adlem. There\u2019s new sub\u00adstances, new psy\u00adcho\u00adact\u00adive sub\u00adstances that are com\u00ading into the mar\u00adket. Dual addic\u00adtion and issues around addic\u00adtion and men\u00adtal health, which has always been there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are becom\u00ading more pre\u00adval\u00adent. And so these are just some of the trends that we\u2019re see\u00ading and the changes over the years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Vap\u00ading and cocaine use has caught the national media\u2019s atten\u00adtion over the past few years. Accord\u00ading to the rehab\u00adil\u00adit\u00ada\u00adtion facil\u00adity, Rut\u00adland Centre, women rep\u00adres\u00adent one of the fast\u00adest grow\u00ading groups seek\u00ading treat\u00adment for cocaine. Treat\u00adment for the drug as a primary addic\u00adtion rose from 17% in 2023 to 23% in 2024, sig\u00adnalling one of the sharpest single year increases recor\u00added for any sub\u00adstance at the centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accord\u00ading to Ryan, both vap\u00ading and cocaine have a lot of mis\u00adin\u00adform\u00ada\u00adtion online which makes people think they\u2019re not harm\u00adful.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYoung women look\u00ading at cocaine, cocaine has no cal\u00ador\u00adies, is the typ\u00adical thing they\u2019ll say. And sure, but that\u2019s not, it\u2019s not a healthy option, to say the least. So there\u2019s these mis\u00adper\u00adcep\u00adtions about these sub\u00adstances being safe or not very harm\u00adful. There\u2019s a tre\u00admend\u00adous amount of mis\u00adin\u00adform\u00ada\u00adtion, espe\u00adcially with things like Tik\u00adTok or social media. The same with vap\u00ading as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the young kids, they see celebrit\u00adies vap\u00ading or blow\u00ading smoke rings. It looks very attract\u00adive and all the dif\u00adfer\u00adent fla\u00advors. That\u2019s abso\u00adlutely not the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNicot\u00adine is one of the most addict\u00adive sub\u00adstances. Even using a vape one or two times with a high con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion of nicot\u00adine is enough to get some\u00adbody addicted for life. It\u2019s dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to quit after that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNicot\u00adine is one of the most addict\u00adive sub\u00adstances. Even using a vape one or two times with a high con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion of nicot\u00adine is enough to get some\u00adbody addicted for life. It\u2019s dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to quit after that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/ireland\/sligo-weekender\/20250814\/281977498705333<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nathan Mol\u00adloy – 14 Aug 2025 PREVENTION is Bet\u00adter is a sub\u00adstance abuse pre\u00adven\u00adtion train\u00ading pro\u00adgramme. Their mis\u00adsion is to break the cycle of sub\u00adstance use dis\u00adorder by provid\u00ading evid\u00adence based pre\u00adven\u00adtion edu\u00adca\u00adtion in schools, work\u00adplaces, and com\u00admunit\u00adies world\u00adwide. Its CEO and founder, Ryan Ulrich, has over 20 years of exper\u00adi\u00adence work\u00ading in addic\u00adtion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,62,20,40,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-education","category-others","category-prevention-research","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20129,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19849\/revisions\/20129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}